“The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved — loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.” — Victor Hugo, novelist and dramatist (26 Feb 1802-1885)

“In the cellars of the night, when the mind starts moving around old trunks of bad times, the pain of this and the shame of that, the memory of a small boldness is a hand to hold.” — John Leonard, critic (25 Feb 1939-2008)

“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.” — Helen Keller in “The Story of My Life” (1902)

“Nothing is really so very frightening when everything is so very dangerous.” — Gertrude Stein